1. Field of the Invention
A fluid damper assembly for dampening vibrations between a frame and a wheel assembly of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Fluid damper assemblies, i.e., shock absorbers, of the type to which the subject invention pertains are known in the art for use in suspension systems of vehicles, such as automobiles, to dampen vibrations between the frame and wheel assembly of the vehicle. An example of a fluid damper assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,032,727 to Vincent Vanspauwen. The fluid damper assembly includes a housing that defines a chamber. A rod extends into the chamber and is axially moveable relative to the housing. A bushing is disposed about the rod and is fixed relative to the housing for guiding the rod during the axial movement of the rod. A piston is connected to the rod and is disposed in axially sliding engagement with the housing in the chamber in a compression stroke and in a rebound stroke in response to relative movement between the rod and the housing. A cushioning device i.e., spring, extends from the bushing and biases the piston toward the compression stroke for dampening movement of the piston during the rebound stroke of the piston.
The bushing and spring of such conventional fluid damper assemblies are typically made of relatively expensive, high mass materials and require numerous, relatively complex manufacturing steps to be installed onto the fluid damper assembly. Accordingly, there remains a need for improvements to such fluid damper assemblies.